Your ideas welcome
Have a topic for a column? Tell us what issues you would like to see covered in “My Point … Exactly.” Send your ideas to Public Editor Chris Vass at cvass@timesfreepress.com
Welcome to the inaugural article for "My Point Exactly ...," a new column by area women. This will be a forum to discuss issues that affect our city, our professional and personal well-being, and our lives here in Chattanooga.
As chairwoman of the Mayor's Council for Women Leadership Committee, I have the privilege of interacting with a diverse, multigenerational group of women with a broad spectrum of personal experience and professional focus. A common factor among them is that they are a passionate and engaged bunch. They are up on issues both local and global. They have opinions, and they have a lot to say. So we wondered how could these and other unique voices be brought to a larger audience?
A couple of months ago, Holly Ashley, executive director of the Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute, and I went to the Times Free Press to pitch an idea for a column written by women. We were seeking a place for women to speak on subjects they care about. There are many among us with fire in the belly about what we see going on in our world.
Editor Alison Gerber and Public Editor Chris Vass understood how women's voices in the paper would serve readers. We invited the women of the Mayor's Council for Women, CWLI members, friends and neighbors to participate. There was more interest than we anticipated; we hoped for four or five contributors but around 20 women committed to this effort.
Fast forward to a sunny day in April when a group of women ready to write met to discuss details and logistics with newspaper editors, including Business Editor Dave Flessner, who enthusiastically supports the column. This was the day that former Chattanooga Times Publisher Ruth Holmberg's obituary appeared in the newspaper. We talked about her contributions and legacy; the plans we were making seemed ever more poignant. This column is something she would have approved of. As good feeds on good, the excitement among the group was kinetic.
So what exactly is "My Point Exactly ..."? Well, if you're thinking the column is a forum for radical bra burning, Bible thumping or male-bashing types - it isn't. It's a totally different kind of "rad." In "My Point Exactly ...," you will read about an experience that made a marked and positive difference in the author's life. Maybe it can help yours. You'll read a story that examines an age-old problem from several different angles. Maybe somewhere in there a new solution can be found. You will hear from women adept at policy, finance, law, business management, marketing and medicine talk about best practices in their field. I expect you'll have the benefit of reading some smart opinions, too. If you don't agree with them, if they get your dander up - awesome. You will have something new to think about and talk about with your family, colleagues and friends.
The column will appear on Sundays in the Business section. Coming soon will be articles on leadership from Marj Flemming, principal at Launchpoint Leadership, and sexism in language from former Girls, Inc. CEO Bea Lurie.
We thank the Times Free Press for this opportunity and for seeing that the Business section is a fitting place for this column.
We hope "My Point Exactly ... " will start conversations. With women ... and men too.
Jelena Butler is a commercial real estate broker at BHGRE Signature Brokers and chairwoman of the Mayor's Council for Women Leadership Committee. Contact her at jelenabutler@gmail.com.